Expansion shell



Patented Aug. 5, 1924.

uni` srATEs AIENI orf-'ics' JOHN H. rHILLIPs, Yor CHICAGO, ILLINOIS,

' EXPANSION SHELL,

Original application filed July 21, 1919, Serial No. 312,243. Patent No. 1,379,210,v datcd'May 24, 1921.

- Divided and this application i'iled February 19, 1921. Serial No. 446,373. z

To alli/17mm imag concer/n: i

Be it known thatiLJoHN H. PHILLIPS', a citizen of the United States, residing at l Chicago, in the county of Cookand- State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Expansion Shells (CaseA), of which thefollowingis a descri tion. 1

T iis application is-adivisional case of my application Serial Number 312,243, tiled July 21, 1919,\now Patent Number 1,379,210 granted May 24, 1921.

My invention belongs to that general classA of devices known as expansion shells, and relates particularly to a shell which may be employed to drill its own hole in concrete, brick, stone or likemateral, and then be utilizedl for fastening v and holding various devices or mechanisms to said drilled material. Among the various uses to which; expansion shells are put maybe mentioned the supporting of pipe andzwire systems and electrical, mechanical f and 'other equipment, etc., from walls, ceiling and `floors of concrete, brick, stone or like material.

My invention has among itsifobjects the production of an expansion shell of the kind described that is simple, convenient, eiiicient, reliable, durable4 and inexpensive, and suitable for use wherever found applicable. It has particularly among Vits zifurther objects the production or an expanding shell which may be placed in a suitable chuck of a percussion or rotary type offdrillA tool, and employed to'd-rill theliole-in whichithe shell is placed, the chucktlien being removedand the Vshell then expanded so that it is securely and rmly, and-toV all intentsandpurposes permanently retained in place for the vpur-V pose of carry'n'g such devices or equipment as may be found desirable. A

`It has particularly as'an object otinven-Y tion, the production ofa shell which being employed as described to drill the hole in which it is to be seated, insures thesecuring oiLxv ahole of the right size and depth into whichY the shell will tit :perfectly and in a most workmanlike manner.

Another object of my invention is to.v pro A vide an expansion shellto-f the above described characteristics havinga longitudinal split vat one end thereof-,said shell being adapted to 'be used in combination with a wedgeshaped expanding member iiisertable into said split to spread the shell. att/l1@ `Split end, saidA expanding means being adjustable toA vary the degree of shell expansion. Another object of this invention istoproduce an expansion shell, as described, in

lis attached.

Many other objects and `advantages of the construction herein shown and described will be obvious to those skilled in the art` from lthe .disclosures herein given.y

To this end my invention consists in the novel construction, arrangement and comybination of .parts herein shown and described, and lmore in the claims.

In the drawings, `wherein like referencey characters indicatel .like or corresponding parts, Y j J is a sectional view oic my improved shell; f

Fig. 2 is a similar View of the sections separated, with a bolt and expander shcwn;

Fig. 3 vis asectioiial view taken substan- .tially through line '3 3 oic Fig'. 2;

. Fig. a is a Viewk in elevation of a modiiied form/of bolt with an expander formed thereon; v

. Fig. 5 is a side view ofthe same;

Fig. 6 is a sectional" view of the same Vtaken substantially and f Figs. 7, 8` and 9 illustrate a modiiied form of expander 'whichV maybe detachably secured on a bolt similar to the securement of the expander shell `iii Fig. 2. Y

rln the embodiment of my invention as disclosed in the-drawings, I' have shown a tubular shell which may be of one or more or the desired' number `of parts, as shown, there beingtwo parts 1VV and 2, which are arranged Vcircumterentially to form the tubular shell,`said parts being preferably provided with a cutting edge or teeth 3 at one eiidthereof. The' parts are made-ot any suitable material in the preferred way, Yand of theV desired size.

particularly pointed out online 6-6 of Fig. 4;.

suitable tool may be inserted to assist in releasing the same from the chuck, as well y as to provide means for attaching a cooperan ing part. The opposed parts are preferably cut away at their toothed ends, as at 7, so as to form a tapered or V-shaped longitudinally extending recess thereat, and the walls 7 of said recess may be divergently inclined or beveled relative to each other from their outer to their inner peripheries, as more fully described hereafter.

After using parte 1 and 2 of the shell to drill its own hole, said parts are then used with an expanding member as an expansion or anchor shell in the hole so drilled, the useful drilling life of said parts being such that each shell will make its own hole.

A round hanger bar or bolt 15 is insertable through the bore of the shell, said bolt being threaded at 16, and threadedly mounted on said bolt is a nut 17, the lateral wings 1S of said nut projectingbeyond the end thereof and having tapered sides 20 and an outer edge 19 parallel to the axis of said nut.

It will be seen that when the assembled shell and nut 1'? are inserted in the neat fitting hole, which said shell has drilled, the

ends of wings 1S will come in contact with the bottom of the hole ahead of the shell parts 1 and 2, and that any further travel of the shell in Contact with the wedgeshaped wings 18 will cause parts 1 and 2 to spread or wedge against the walls of the hole. The wings 18 are of such width that it will be necessary to force the shellparts y to the bottom of the hole by driving. A few blows on the en d 5 of the shell will 'drive it against the bottom of the hole, at the same time causing the cutting points or high points on the outer surface ofthe shell to out and imbed in the walls of the hole, thus seating and wedging it with a full'bearing. The shell being tightly wedged or' expanded at the bottom of the hole before the permanent load or pull is applied to the rod or bolt 15, will insure that any spreading or wedging action due to such load or pull will be at the bottom of the hole.

In Figs. 4, 5 and 6, I have shown a bolt 2l having an integral wedge integral at one end thereof, said bolt being threaded at 22. The wedge wings shown have outer sides or faces 23 parallel to the bolt axis, and alsohave a pair of downwardly convergent, inclined or tapered sides 24, the wings at the meeting edges of the tapered sides and the vertical outer side 23 being beveled at 25, said bevel extending laterally of said meeting edges for their entire length. The beveled faces 25 are preferably of a similar taper to the taper of the beveled faces 7 of the shell recess, so that when the wedge is moved'axially of the shell parts after it has been inserted into said recess, it will fit snugly therein and expand' the shell parts. An-

Ithe hammer or tool is operating.

other advantage of said doubletoothed snug fit is that when the wedge is expanding, it will tendto force any dirt or other foreign matter Ibetween the shell edges into the interior Vof the shell.

Figs. 7 to 9 inclusive illustrate another form of wedge member 26, similar in shape to the wedge member shown in Figs. a to 6, the difference lying in the fact that the wedge 26 is a separate or detachable member like the wedge-shaped nut 17 illustrated in 1 to 3, and said nut 2G being also threadedk at 27. K

It will be obvious that the various features of the bolt and wedgeshaped expander wings combined in the several modifications may be combined as desired. I have not considered it necessary tor illustrate the chuck by means of which theA device is seated, said chuck being described in myv coi-pending application Serial No. 361,906, filed February 7, 1920. It will be noted that the device is substantially a selfdrilling expansion shell which is especially applicable for fastening various devices to concrete ceilings and the like, requiring the use of round and flat hangers, wire ties, bolt and screwy connections, etc. In using the device the shell isA placed in the chuck and held firmly against the material to be drilled. The cutting edges or teeth may be brought to different points in the work by a slight back and forth rotary motion while Thus, owing to theposition of thecutting edges after drilling, the slight rotary movement is more desirable in the case of the larger sizes, where the pitch of the teeth is greater. In the smaller size having finer pitch, the jump Vor vibration from the blow of the hammer issulficient to break off the material between the cutting edges, permitting the shell to be driven straight in under repeated blows of the hammer. As the work progresses, the center or core corresponding to the bore of the shell breaks off into short pieces, and `together with the cuttings falls down through the shell and out of the chuck. After the hole has been drilled to the desire-d depth, the chuck and shell are removed, the tapered expander mechanism and bolt or rod are then inserted through the bore of the plug and the shell and parts reinserted into the drill hole. The tapered expander is then operated to expand the shell parts, causing the same to be firmly and securely locked in place in the hole, and thereby locking the bolt or fixture fastener in place. To all intents and purposes, the same becomes substantially a permanent part of the wall, ceiling or the like to which the various devices or other equipment may be securedy by means of said bolt or rod, or the equivalent. The device has many advantages in that is. is not necessary to provide extra drills, as each shell may be em.

ployed to drill its own hole. The shells may be manufactured at comparatively small expense, and if desired, may be used only one time, having sufficient life as a drill to serve the purpose. They may be constructed jin any suitable manner, or any number of parts as described, and after forming, may be case-hardened or otherwise treated so as to increase their durability. rAmong the .decided advantagesA of the self-drilling expansion shells over the non-drilling shells is the perfect fit of the shell in its own hole, thereby requiring less expaiisio-ny and permitting more acute taper of the wedgng member and a corresponding more powerful expansionl than is possible with cast shells requiring greater expansion in order to accommodate the various variations in the size of the holes resulting from the use of separate drills. Y l Having thus described my invention, it is obvious that various immaterial modifica-- tions may be made in the 'same without depart-ing'from the spirit of my invention; hence I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the exact form, construc- .ti0n, arrangament and combination of parts herein shownV and described or tioned.

l/Vhat I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is: Y

l. An expansion shell of the kind described comprising a tubular body split longitudinally and having wedge-shaped recesses formed at the opposed edges of said split at one end thereof, the sides of said recesses being convergently tapered from the inner to the outer periphery, and cooperating means having Wedge-shaped sides and bevelled rearwardly of the outer edges thereof and insertable into said recesses so as to bear against the faces of the side walls thereof USGS 111811- v` and expand said shell.

2. An expansion shell of the kind described comprising a plurality of parts having Wedge-shaped recesses therebetween at one end of the opposed edges, the side walls of each of said recesses diverging inwardlyV from the outer periphery, and cooperating means arranged withinY said shell and extending laterally thereof, thel outer faces of said means extending parallel to the shell axis and having side walls divergentlyV bevelled from their outer to'their inner edges,

said means being insertible into each of said recesses so as to bear against the faces 0f they side walls thereof and expand the shell at each line of juncture.

3. An expansion shell of the kind de-,60

scribed comprising a tubular body having a wedged-shaped recess at one end thereof, the sides of said recess being convergently tapered from the inner to the outer periphery of the shell, and cooperating means com- 65 prising a member having wedge-sliaped sides insertableV into said shell to bear evenly against the faces of said recess to expand said shell and being of a greater length than said recess so as to extend beyond the end of said shell and be engageable with the bottom wall of the hole in which said shell is inserted.

et'. An expansion shell of the kind described comprising a plurality of parts having wedge-shaped `recesses therebetween atV one end of their opposed edges, the sidewalls of each of said recesses diverging inwardly vfrom the outer periphery, and cooperating means arranged within said shell and extending laterally thereof, the outer faces of said means extending parallel tothe shell f axis and having side walls Ydivergently beveled from their outer to their inner edges,

and convergently tapered from their tops to their bottoms, said means being insertable intoeach of said recesses so as to bearagainst the faces of the side walls thereof and expand the shell at eachV line of juncture.

5. An expansionY shell of the kind described comprising a tubular body having a' wedge-shaped recess at one end thereof, the Y sides of said recess being convergently ta,` pered from the inner tothe outer periphery i of the shell and cooperating means compris- A ing a member having wedge-shaped sides and beveled rearwardly of the outer edgeof said sides so'as tobear evenly against the faces bf said recess to expand said shell, said member being of greater length than said recess so as to extend beyond the end of said shell and be engageable with the bottom Wall ofthe hole in which said shell is inserted.

In Ytestimony whereof, I have hereunto signedV my namey in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

BERTHA HARTMANN. 

